Augmented Reality Magic Trick

So I know Jan covered this over at the Augmented Reality Blog, but I thought it was such a great video I wanted to show it and talk about it here. First please watch the video because its a great piece of entertainment and it certain stretches the imagination of what is possible with AR.

The video is courtesy of Marco Tempest, a world renown magician that won the prestigious New York World Cup of Magic at the age of 22. After reviewing his site, I found that he’s quite at the edge of his profession, which doesn’t surprise me given his use of AR, which is at the forefront of current technology. What I most like about the magic trick and the other videos I reviewed is the story he creates with the magic. He doesn’t just make you wonder how he’s doing the trick, he gets you to forget he’s performing a trick at all.

What his video also does for me is showcase the scary and exciting possibilities of AR. His video showed how well, using fledgling AR technology, reality and the unreal can be blended together seamlessly. In one way, I realize his trick required loads of preparation and the talent and skill of a master magician to pull off. Yet I also realize, as the technology improves, the ability to bend reality will become more commonplace.